LOS ANGELES — Sidney L. Morse, who served as general manager of the California Mart for 30 years, died of complications from leukemia on Feb. 1 at The Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. He was 71.
A native of New York City, Morse moved with his parents to Los Angeles as a teenager, where he attended Los Angeles High School and earned an associate of arts degree in animal husbandry from Sierra College.
Early in his career, he worked as an executive at Belmar Builders and California Lingerie Inc. before joining his father, Barney, and uncle, Harvey, who cofounded the California Mart, which is now known as the California Market Center, in downtown Los Angeles in 1962.
Under Sidney Morse’s three-decade stewardship as managing partner, the family-owned building became an important anchor of the Los Angeles apparel industry.
But the fallout from a California recession and softening of the real estate market adversely affected rents at the 1.9 million-square-foot trade mart, which failed to make mortgage payments on $265 million; in 1994, the Equitable Life Assurance Society assumed ownership of the building from the Morse family. Sidney Morse then embarked on the second phase of his career, which included investing in real estate and motion pictures. He moved to Tucson, Ariz., in 1995 and at the time of his death had invested in more than 30 films and was serving as president of movie investment company Red Cloud Films Inc.
“We are deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Sidney Morse,” said California Market Center general manager John Kim. “Sidney and his family created a building that has withstood the test of time as a landmark of the apparel industry. On behalf of everyone at the California Market Center, we offer Sidney’s family our most heartfelt condolences.”
Morse is survived by his wife, Faye, four children from a previous marriage and 10 grandchildren.
In lieu of flowers, the family asked that donations be made to the Arizona Cancer Centre Director’s Circle, 1515 North Campbell Avenue, P.O. Box 245013, Tucson, Ariz. 85724.